Vicar’s Letter – September 2018

September is a month when there are a lot of changes in many people’s lives. For some there will be their first day at ‘proper’ school. For some there will be the move from Junior School to ‘Big’ School, for others there is the move to Sixth Form and for yet others there will be the move away from home to College or University – lots of people experiencing big changes. All of these changes are concerned with the big stages our children and young people encounter as they go through their education.

Your formal education and mine may have been many years ago and so you would say that your life doesn’t really change anymore. Most days are the same. There aren’t the big milestones in my life anymore. That may be true but as people we are constantly changing. Life changes us. Like me, many of you will have suffered a loss during these years – a loss that makes a huge impact on our lives. I am a very different person than when I first came here to Holmes Chapel. The experiences I have had, the things that I have read and learned have all shaped me into the person I am today. That is true of everybody. Just as I have changed, so have you. You are not the same person you were when I came to Holmes Chapel.

The thing that changes us more than anything is our mind. That is why education is so important as our minds are trained to think and we are educated with knowledge and understanding. Education is a lifelong process. We are never too old to learn. We are never too old to change. In fact from a spiritual perspective we are encouraged as Christians to be changing and growing to maturity in the Faith as we seek to become more and more Christ like. As actions i.e. how we live, are controlled by the mind the Scriptures encourage us to change ‘by the renewing of your minds’ (Romans 12:2). That comes about by spiritual education as we read and learn more about our faith. Our primary source is of course the Bible and I do hope you read your Bible regularly. Chris Land distributes the Bible Reading Fellowship notes that help many as they read there Bibles regularly. Do have a word with her if you wish her to order some notes for you. There are also many other Christian resources we can use to help renew our minds.

Here at St. Luke’s we have Midweek and the Bible Study group that reconvene this month. At Midweek we will be using Les Miserables as a resource to stimulate our thinking about our faith. These resources we offer here at St. Luke’s help to renew our minds. Do avail yourself of these very valuable assets as we each seek to become more and more like Christ and seek to serve Him.

This month is also when we celebrate the harvest. Life has been tough for our farmers this year because of the exceptional weather but there is a harvest to celebrate! Our main traditional Harvest Festival service is on Sunday 30th September at 10.00am. The week before, on the 23rd September, the Uniformed Organisations are coming into church for a Parade Service when we will also have harvest as the theme of that service.

St Luke’s Parish Church

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPTRead More

Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.